The Vikings: Culture and Conquest

(Paperback)

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Description

The story of the Vikings is one of the most dramatic in European history. From their base in Scandinavia, Viking warriors and settlers spread across northern Europe, into Russia and across the Atlantic. After their first impact as fearsome raiders, destroying monasteries and plundering coastal settlements, the Vikings turned to conquest in England, Ireland and Normandy. In their longships they also penetrated into the Mediterranean and as far as Byzantium, as well as establishing settlements in Iceland and Greenland and discovering Vinand, or America. This book is a concise and clear survey of who the Vikings were, what they did, why they did it and how we know about them. It includes an account of heir remarkable saga literature and is likely to become a standard work on the subject.

Reviews

"fascinating and occasionally gruesome tome." - Gary Young in Birmingham Mail, 2008
"A solid introduction written with clarity." - The Herald, 2008
"This book presents a concise and readable overview of an era of perennial interest. Well-suited for use in the college classroom, but ... also appealing to generalist readers." - Thomas A DuBois, The Historian, Fall 2008 -- Thomas A DuBois

Author Bio

Martin Arnold is Professor of Scandinavian Literature at Hull University. He is the author of The Vikings (Continuum, 2006).